NSW woman dead after vaccine

The Central Coast woman was given a jab on Friday and developed blood clots hours later, according to reports.

It’s believed the woman, who was diabetic but otherwise in good health, was placed in an intensive care unit and died on Wednesday.

It was not known if the vaccine was an AstraZeneca or Pfizer shot.

A NSW Health spokesperson could not confirm any link between the vaccine and the woman’s death.

“NSW Health does not speculate on or discuss individual cases, but the death of anyone is always a tragedy and our condolences are with the family and loved ones of the person who has passed away,” it said in a statement on Thursday evening.

“The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is responsible for regulating and monitoring the use of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia.

“Monitoring involves detecting and responding to any emerging safety concerns related to COVID-19 vaccines, particularly any adverse events following immunisation.”

The spokesperson said in the statement provided to NCA NewsWire any adverse reactions following a vaccination was reported to NSW Health.

“NSW Health investigates these events and refers its expert panel findings to the TGA, which is responsible for assessing causality,” the department said.

“Many conditions can arise during normal life, whether or not a vaccine is administered, but it remains important to report any new serious or unexpected events so that safety can be appropriately monitored.”

Reports of the death comes after the Prime Minister demanded the country’s leaders and health authorities ramp back up to a war footing, admitting the stalled vaccine rollout faces “serious challenges”.

The rollout has fallen well short of initial expectations, compounded further by blood clotting concerns with the AstraZeneca shot.

Scott Morrison wants national cabinet to recommence regular meetings from Monday in a bid to “get the program back on track”.

Last week, it was announced the AstraZeneca jab won’t be offered to Australians under the age of 50 following advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

This led to Mr Morrison refusing to commit to a timeline for the rollout to be completed after previously ensuring the nation all jabs would be provided by October.

“There are serious challenges we need to overcome caused by patchy international vaccine supplies, changing medical advice and a global environment of need caused by millions of COVID-19 cases and deaths,” he said on Tuesday.